The novella and two short stories that make up this volume were written at three different periods in Makanin's life, yet they are united by their narrative and stylistic invention, their range of human emotion, and the profound humanity of their prose. Though banished and suppressed in the Brezhnev era, Makanin is now recognized as one of Russia's leading writers

The novella and two short stories that make up this volume of Vladimir Makanin's work were written during three different periods of the author's life, yet they are united by their narrative and stylistic invention, their range of human emotion, and the profound humanity of their prose.

In the first story, "Klyucharyov and Alimushkin", one man becomes remarkably lucky while another man loses all his luck. This nuanced and elliptical story has the stylistic clarity and wit of a parable; yet, through the emotional responses that he evokes, Makanin questions the values by which we categorize the respective fortunes of the two men. The novella The Loss is about Pekalov, a drunkard and dreamer obsessed with the idea of building a tunnel under the Ural River. He disappears in a ditch while working on the tunnel and is made a saint by the people of his village, who build a church in his honor. In wise and bitter prose, and through subtle allusions to the diverse traditions of Russian literature, this story explores the loss and renewal of human life. In the final stow, "The Prisoner from the Caucasus", two Russian soldiers take a Chechen prisoner during the war. As the events unfold, Makanin reveals not only the casual brutality of the war but also the secret and resonant truths of his characters' lives.